Application for Naturalisation As British Citizen By Members/Ex-Members Of British Armed Forces

Written by Arshad Mahmood

You can apply for naturalisation as a British Citizen if you are a member or ex-member of British Armed Forces. The application is made using application form AN. The requirements to be satisfied for naturalisation as a British Citizen by a member or ex-member of British Armed Forces include the following:

The applicant should be fee of immigration time restrictions on the date the application for naturalisation as a British Citizen is made to the Home Office, UKVI;

The applicant must have lived in the UK continuously for 5 years preceding the date of application for naturalisation as British Citizen

The applicant should meet the good character requirement the same way as all other applicants for naturalisation are required to meet;

The applicant must meet the requirement of Knowledge of Life in the UK and the English Language.

Residence Criteria For Currently Serving Members Of The Brigade Of Ghurkhas

If, at the time of consideration, the applicant is currently serving in the Brigade of Gurkhas, the Home Office, UKVI should:

calculate the number of days’ technical absence in the qualifying period and exclude this from the residence count;

combine technical absences with actual absences to obtain the total number of days’ absence during the qualifying period;

apply the normal levels of permitted absence (i.e. 450/270/90 days) and not waive any excess absence

Residence Criteria For Former Armed Forces Personnel (Including Former Ghurkhas) And Those Currently Serving Otherwise Than In The Brigade Of Ghurkhas

There is discretion within the British Nationality Act 1981 to overlook the requirement to have been in the UK on the first day of the 5 year qualifying period for a 6(1) application, if the applicant is or has been a member of the Armed Forces.

The Home Office, UKVI should normally exercise discretion where:

The applicant was a member of the UK armed forces on the first day of the 5 year qualifying period, and

He or she was unable to be physically present on that date because of his or her service in the armed forces, and

He or she meets all the other requirements for section 6(1).

In these cases, the Home Office, UKVI should exercise discretion under paragraph 2(b) of Schedule 1 to the BNA 1981 and treat any "technical" absences during the qualifying period as residence. In addition, the Home Office, UKVI should, if necessary, be prepared to disregard any and all actual absences from the UK that were due to the applicant’s armed forces service.

Requirement Of Being Free From Immigration Control

While in the armed services, applicants are exempt from immigration control and therefore free of immigration time restrictions. Applicants will have been free of immigration time restrictions throughout their period of service. In many cases, former armed services personnel will have been granted ILR on discharge and will meet the requirement to have been free of immigration time restrictions in the 12 months prior to the date of application.

In some cases the former armed forces member will have been granted 28 days limited leave on discharge, before being granted indefinite leave to remain. In such cases the Home Office, UKVI should exercise discretion over the requirement to be free of immigration time restrictions in the 12 month period before making the application. The Home Office, UKVI does not normally exercise discretion in this way if the former armed forces member had been granted a longer period of limited leave on other grounds.

Spouses/civil partners and children

Spouses/civil partners and children of servicemen are not exempt from immigration control while residing in the UK. Instead, they are generally given leave to remain as long as their spouse/civil partner is in service. While they still have limited leave to remain, neither spouses/civil partners nor children will be able to meet the criteria to be free of immigration time restrictions (spouse/civil partner) or future intentions (children), and their applications can be refused if you have not held ILR for last 12 months.

The spouses/civil partner of servicemen exempt from immigration control, too, may have high levels of absences either because they have been accompanying their spouse/civil partner while overseas or because they have not been able to accompany him while he is in the UK. The Home Office can exercise discretion to disregard any absences which are due to the service abroad the same way as such discretion is exercised for the servicemen.

Any child born legitimately in the UK to a parent who is in HM armed forces is automatically a British citizen. Where a child is not already a British citizen, the Home Office, UKVI should consider the application in line with the parents and be prepared to waive the criterion for children over 13 years of age to have completed two years' residence in the UK.

Why Choose Sunrise Solicitors For Naturalisation As A British Citizen?

The immigration solicitors at Sunrise Solicitors are experts in dealing with applications for naturalisation as British Citizen. The quality of our service is self-evident from our clients' reviews about the service provided by our immigration lawyers. You can contact us if you are seeking legal help from immigration lawyers in London in relation to your application for naturalisation as a British Citizen and our immigration solicitors will provide you fast, friendly, reliable and professional immigration service.

If instructed to represent you regarding your application for naturalisation as a British Citizen, the casework to be carried out by our immigration solicitors will include the following:

Taking detailed instructions from you and advise you about the relevant immigration laws and procedures to be adopted by the Home Office, UKVI in your application for naturalisation as British Citizen;

Discussing your application for naturalisation as a British Citizen in detail with you and advising you about the weaknesses and strengths of your British Citizenship application;

Advising you about the documentary evidence to be submitted in support of your application for naturalisation as a British Citizen;

Considering the contents of the documentary evidence to be submitted in support of your British Citizenship application and discussing the same with you;

Completing form AN to apply for naturalisation as a British Citizen and discussing the same with you;

Advising you about two referees who have to complete and sign your application form as referees to meet the good character requirement;

Certifying all your original documents as true copy of the original including your passport(s) and your Biometric Residence Permit with ILR so that you can continue to travel while the application for British Citizenship is pending with the Home Office;

Preparing a cover letter to introduce and support your application for naturalisation as a British Citizen;

Liaising with the Home Office, UKVI for a timely decision on your British Citizenship application and responding to any further information and/or documents required by the Home Office in support of your application;

Protecting your interests while your British Citizenship application is pending with the Home Office, UKVI and keeping you informed about the progress of your application for naturalisation as a British Citizen;

Doing all the follow up work including responding to any queries raised by the Home Office, UKVI until decision is reached on your naturalisation application by the Home Office, UKVI;

Our Fee For An Application For Naturalisation As A British Citizen

We will charge you a fee from £700.00 + VAT for our professional immigration services in relation to your application for naturalisation as a British Citizen [AN Application]. The agreed fee will depend on the complexity of your naturalisation application and the casework involved in the matter.

If you cannot afford to pay our fee in full at the time of instructing us in relation to your matter, you can pay half of the fee at the time of instructing us and rest of the fee can be paid by monthly instalments.

The agreed fee will cover all our work until decision by the Home Office on your application for naturalisation as a British Citizen. However, it is pertinent to note that the agreed fee will not cover any disbursements to be incurred by us on your behalf e.g. translation of documents, Home Office fee etc.